Demon
by Shimmering-Sky
Summary: Everyone calls him a demon because of his actions... but is he really? What drove Zarc to become the Supreme Dragon King and ravage the original world? (Zarc-centric, implied FusedShipping, FruitShipping, Yuto/Ruri, AppleShipping, and PredatorShipping.)


**A/N: WELP HERE WE ARE AGAIN, GUYS!**

 **I really need to stop listening to songs that have really depressing lyrics. This time it was the English fancover of the song "Bad Apple!", from the Touhou series. Well, specifically JubyPhonic's version because that's the first one I listened to (although I'm pretty sure all of them use the same lyrics). I actually started this awhile ago, but I got Pokemon Moon and all of my free time went to beating that, but I digress.**

… **I swear, my muses want me to be known as the writer that filled this fandom with angsty FusedShipping stories, just like Corinne and Donjusticia are known for filling the fandom with parodies and fluff.**

 _ **PREPARE YOUR TISSUES.**_

 _ **(I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V or Bad Apple!)**_

* * *

 _Ever on and on I continue circling_

 _With nothing but my hate in a carousel of agony_

 _Till slowly I forget and my heart starts vanishing_

 _And suddenly I see that I can't break free—_

* * *

" _Odd-Eyes_! Attack _Ignition Beast Volcannon_!"

It was an accident. An _accident_. I was careless, I got lost in the excitement of the Duel. I just couldn't help myself. Odd-Eyes had been lost too, because my dragons and I always work in sync. Now the stadium is completely silent other than the pained groans of my opponent as he clutches his shoulder. I see the blood spilling out from under his fingers.

This, this isn't right. Real Solid Vision shouldn't do this. _I_ shouldn't _cause_ this. He's— _God_ , why is there so much _blood_? Isn't someone going to help him?

…Wait…

…that sound…

I swallow the bile in my throat and manage to tear my eyes away from my opponent. And I hear the cheers. Cheers, not booing. Cheers for _me_ , for what I did. I… I don't understand, I _hurt_ him. That's not something you're supposed to cheer for.

But… they're all smiling as they chant my name, and those smiles are the reason I've Dueled ever since Ray first shared the "Duels with smiles" philosophy with me. I've been looking for something _more_ to add to my act, since I could tell not everyone was happy while watching me Duel. Now, _everyone_ I can see is smiling. Is this what I've been looking for all this time?

* * *

 _I'm slipping through the cracks of a dark eternity_

 _With nothing but my pain and the paralyzing agony_

 _To tell me who I am, who I was_

 _Uncertainty enveloping my mind_

 _Till I can't break free_

* * *

 _(This isn't right.)_

With a smile on my face, I watch as my opponent is carried out on a stretcher, his head having to be held in place for fear of more damage being done to his mind. The cheers are just as loud if not louder as they were when I first hurt my opponent in a Duel, and I soak them in like I always do. I bow to the audience. Another successful Duel, another stadium full of smiles.

Except… I look up at _Odd-Eyes Dragon_ , just before his hologram disappears, and I can feel nothing but _sorrow_ and _anger_ from my precious friend. My chest feels like it's on fire as I try to reach out to him, only to have him force me back. A similar reaction occurs when I try to reach out to my other friends.

I stare at their cards. _Odd-Eyes_. _Dark Rebellion_. _Clear Wing_. _Starve Venom_. They've been my only friends throughout my entire life… If they're hurting, I want to help, but I can't even tell what's wrong with them.

 _("Duel Monsters aren't tools for war. They just want to have fun!")_

I frown as Ray's words from so long ago echo in my mind. That's not what this is. I _am_ Dueling for fun and smiles. I would _never_ think of cruelly using my cards to fight others. This—this is _different_! It _has_ to be!

 _(Except it's not, and I know it's not. But I can't stop.)_

* * *

 _And maybe it's a dream; maybe nothing else is real_

 _But it wouldn't mean a thing if I told you how I feel_

 _So I'm tired of all the pain, all the misery inside_

 _And I wish that I could live feeling nothing but the night_

* * *

Ray pulls me aside after one of my Duels, before the reporters can swarm me for the rest of the afternoon. She's upset, and I can't stand it. I haven't seen her smile in _months_ —and there's nothing more beautiful than that smile. I try to pull her close, but she pushes me away and stares at me with those sad eyes.

"Zarc, you have to stop this," she says, tightly holding one of my hands.

"Wha—? What do you mean?" I ask. Her grip on my hands makes me want to squirm. I've never felt _that_ before.

She looks like I slapped her, the sadness slipping into shock. "What do _I_ mean?! Isn't it _obvious_? You can't keep hurting those people, Zarc! It isn't right!"

 _(I knew it. I knew it, but I never said anything.)_

I can't voice my deep thoughts. I'm Zarc, the Demon Duelist as my fans have taken to calling me, and I can't turn back now. I ignore the twist in my gut as I reply, "It's been months, Ray. Don't you think someone would have told me to stop by now if it was wrong? But no one has, and—and I'm still entertaining the audience. They're still _smiling_. Isn't that what I'm _supposed_ to do? Make them smile with my Duels?"

 _(I don't mean it. I don't want to do this either. Please, Ray. Make me listen to you. Help me!)_

She doesn't hear what I really mean. She leaves in tears, as I chase after her, all the way back to her house. She disappears inside and slams the door behind her. I pound on it, yelling, crying, desperately hoping she'll answer, until my arms ache and my throat is too raw for words.

Ray… isn't going to help me. She… she left me, she _abandoned_ me.

 _("What do you say, Zarc? Friends forever?")_

 _("Y-Yeah. Friends.")_

 _("Then let's pinkie-promise on it!")_

I should have expected this. I'm _always_ the one that gets cast aside, no matter how many times I try to get close to others. I thought it was alright to let Ray in, but apparently I was wrong. The only friends who've never left me are my cards…

It's in that moment that I hear my dragons, for the first time in ages. They cry in tandem with the inner depths of my heart—they cry for action. They cry for revenge, against the people that just take and take and _take_ until there's nothing left.

 _Not yet. I'm not strong enough yet._

* * *

 _You can tell me what to say; you can tell me where to go_

 _But I doubt that I would care, and my heart would never know_

 _If I make another move there'll be no more turning back_

 _Because everything will change and it all will fade to black_

* * *

"Is that it? Is there no one else who will fight me?" I demand, my opponents unconscious before me. With this win, I stand at the top of the entire world. It's still not enough. "I am not yet satisfied! I want to fight stronger and more fiercely!"

My audience chants my name, and many of them scream that they, too, want more. Like they always do. But I'm tired of giving, and getting nothing in return. I'm tired of trying to satisfy their need to watch me fight, because they're _never_ satisfied.

 _It's time._

"Okay! That voice is my and my monster's power! If you guys wish it, we become strong! Strong enough to destroy the world! So we will continue to fight! Just as you guys want it!"

My four dragons appear before me, and the stadium goes quiet for a moment as they try to figure out what I'm going to do. I doubt that any of them know that. My lips curl into a feral smile as I allow my friends to release all of their pent-up rage upon the crowd. Their screams tear through the air, but I won't stop.

This _is_ what they wanted, after all. Isn't it?

* * *

 _Will tomorrow ever come? Will I make it through the night?_

 _Will there ever be a place for the broken in the light?_

 _Am I hurting? Am I sad? Should I stay, or should I go?_

 _I've forgotten how to tell. Did I ever even know?_

* * *

I walk through the ruins of the city I once called home, half-burnt corpses strewn across my path. They thought they could put an end to me— _me_ , a monster _they_ helped create. But while they put up a fight like cornered rats, enough to leave me with a handful of scrapes on my arms, there was just no way they could beat me.

My arm stings, and I press my other hand to it, only to find that it's bleeding. The sticky substance is all over my glove now. Tch. _Damn humans._

This shouldn't have happened. _I_ am the strongest, they shouldn't be able to lay a _finger_ on me! Yet here I am, with my arm cut open. It's far from a significant injury. A mere scratch. But I _must_ be invincible. I need to be even stronger. The power I have now isn't enough. I'm not yet satisfied… and neither are my dragons.

Without something even more _spectacular_ than this, how else are we supposed to _entertain_ those humans with an insatiable thirst for violence?

 _Perhaps… if our powers were_ combined…

A smile graces my lips. Oh, I'll give what still remains of humanity the most stunning show they've ever witnessed.

 _("WE WILL BECOME ONE!")_

* * *

 _Can I take another step? I've done everything I can_

 _All the people that I see I will never understand_

 _If I find a way to change, if I step into the light_

 _Then I'll never be the same and it all will fade to white_

* * *

 _(Five souls melded together in one body. The Supreme Dragon King Zarc.)_

There's nothing left but ruins for me— _us_ —to fly over. Humanity has been all but extinguished by my— _our_ —hands. Are they _entertained_ yet? Are they _satisfied_ yet? I— _we_ —haven't heard the applause that would signal _us_ to stop yet. Do they still want _more_? We have no way of advancing our spectacle any more, they should know that.

Movement on the surface draws our eye. Someone jumping around the crystals we formed to decorate these ruins. Have they come to watch our show? It's been so long…

 _(No. Humans are rotten. Kill them… kill them… kill them…!)_

The person intruding our domain is _Ray_.

Seeing her, the influence of my dragons' melded souls drive out of my head immediately. I'm just _Zarc_ again—a _maddening_ experience. I cast aside my weakness, my _humanity_ , _everything_ just to get away from _these feelings_.

" _So… after all this time… you've_ finally _decided to show yourself?"_ my voice booms.

 _(Traitor. Traitor. Traitor.)_

She doesn't so much as flinch. Her Duel Disk is on—pointlessly, of course, _no one_ could _possibly_ defeat me and she should know this. But still, she holds up four cards—Spells, I think?—and slides them all into the device on her wrist, all the while apologizing. _Apologizing!_ She has the _nerve_ to apologize _now_? It's _far too late_ for that.

The world around me starts glowing and then my entire being is in _agony_ , claws digging into every part of my body and threatening to tear me apart. I scream and try to fight off whatever _power_ this is and cling _desperately_ to my dragons— _we are one—ONE—we cannot and will not split_ —

Everything goes dark.

* * *

 _Ever on and on I continue circling_

 _With nothing but my hate in a carousel of agony_

 _Till slowly I forget and my heart starts vanishing_

 _And suddenly I see that I can't break free—_

* * *

 _Who am I? Where am I? What happened to me?_

Alone in the never-ending darkness, these are the questions that are constantly on my mind, and I have no way of finding the answers. I'm chained in place, and the chains don't even make noise as I thrash against them. I can't even hear my own screams…

 _Who am I? WHO AM I? WHY DON'T I REMEMBER?!_

I thrash against the chains knowing my own name is—is—

 _("Yu…")_

My head snaps up. That was a _sound_. A _sound_!

 _("Yu—")_

 _("—ya!")_

 _("—to!")_

 _("—go!")_

 _("—ri!")_

A scream tears through my throat— _another thing I can finally hear_ —as my vision explodes in color and for the first time in—in _forever_ —I can _see_ but what I see is four very, _very_ different images, all at once. Different—different… lives…?

 _(Yuya. Yuto. Yugo. Yuri.)_

 _(Yuya, with a pink-haired and blue-eyed girl. Yuto, incomplete until he meets a girl with dark violet hair and pink eyes. Yugo, with a light-teal-haired and amber-eyed girl. Yuri, growing up alongside a girl with bluish-purple hair and green eyes until one day she's gone and he's forced to forget her. But those girls, their faces are blurry…)_

It's too much. I—

 _I want the silence and, and the darkness back._

* * *

 _I'm slipping through the cracks of a dark eternity_

 _With nothing but my pain and the paralyzing agony_

 _To tell me who I am, who I was_

 _Uncertainty enveloping my mind_

 _Till I can't break free_

* * *

I've known nothing but the frigid temperatures of the darkness for as long as I can remember. So when my body feels… not, not cold… _w-warm_ … I allow myself to wake up. I feel it stronger now—the warmth coursing through my veins, and—and suddenly I feel like something is tugging on my soul.

In the midst of the darkness, I can _see._ There's someone else there, frozen in place just like me.

Yellow eyes and silver-and-green hair.

My head hurts. I know who has that color hair and eyes. I know them, I _have_ to, I—I—

 _The other person is… me…?_ But how do I know that?

My arm is the first part of me that is free. I move it around for what seems like the first time ever. It's… it's the strangest feeling, until the chains completely vanish and suddenly I'm standing on my own two feet and then I'm running, running towards the other me and he's running towards me. We collide in a flash of pale blue light, and everything goes white.

…

 _Zarc. Zarc. Zarc, the Demon Duelist._

I remember my name. _I remember my name_! After all this time, I remember it! It's enough to make me weep tears of joy, even as the chains snake around me to pull me tight again. But I was _free_ , just for that moment, and _now I remember_!

 _My name is Zarc. I have no family, and… and I don't_ think _I have any friends. …That's right, I don't, I'm all alone in the world except for my dragons._ They're _my family._

But when I try to recall my dragons, I only have two clear images in my mind. _Odd-Eyes_ and _Dark Rebellion_. I know there are two more, why can't I remember _them_? Not their names or faces…

 _Ray._

My fists tighten as I remember that name. Just the name, not an image of who that person is, and yet just remembering that _one word_ fills me with a level of wrath and an emptiness in my heart I've never felt before. This "Ray"… I don't know what they could have done, but it must have been _awful_. I wonder if they're the one that trapped me like this.

There's still so much I'm missing. Are they out there? Other "Zarc"s, with more of my memories? I'm sure there are, I remember when I first heard a sound and it felt like my mind was split in four. So, there have to be to other parts of me… somewhere. I have to find them. We're the same person, why have we been split apart?

* * *

 _And maybe it's a dream; maybe nothing else is real_

 _But it wouldn't mean a thing if I told you how I feel_

 _So I'm tired of all the pain, all the misery inside_

 _And I wish that I could live feeling nothing but the night_

* * *

So much time passes. Moments of control over my own body are few and far between, each time I surface requiring me to finish the end of some Duel. I feel the rage boiling in my veins, though I can't place why I'm so angry. All I know is that I have to defeat my opponents, and make their defeat as stunning and violent as possible. That's what the people want, and I have to entertain them.

Then, one day, I surface and I'm still in chains. _Odd-Eyes_ and _Dark Rebellion_ are both my my side… and I see them. The other dragons I'm missing. The other two parts of me are controlling them. They're so close…

It's finally time. I've waited so long… it's time for my revival. I will be whole once again! I'll be able to remember _everything_!

…Until I hear a girl's voice cry, "Yuya!" and my vision gives way to a pink light and I'm back in the darkness, alone once again. The feeling of being drawn in by my other parts is gone, I can't sense them anymore.

I scream and curse and shake the chains. I was _so close_! So close, and that girl just _had_ to interrupt!

…But, trapped here, I can do nothing but wait even longer. That girl can't stop me forever. I'll find them again, I just know I will.

And I do. It's a while before I do, but I find them. They've already combined their souls and their memories—but it doesn't matter. We'll become one all the same. Our battle is nothing but the means of allowing us to reunite. I win, and violet light flashes all around us as the memories my other half held onto rush into my mind.

 _I'm the Supreme Dragon King Zarc. Ray, traitor, she abandoned me first, and then came and fought and split me apart._

 _Ray_ betrayed _me._ No wonder I was filled with so much rage when I recalled her name all that time ago.

It occurs to me that the voice of the girl that had cried for Yuya ages ago sounded exactly like Ray. She must have been split apart too. To prevent _this_? My return?

It's far too late for that.

 _("WE ARE ONE!")_

* * *

 _You can tell me what to say; you can tell me where to go_

 _But I doubt that I would care, and my heart would never know_

 _If I make another move there'll be no more turning back_

 _Because everything will change and it all will fade to black_

* * *

Akaba Leo is the first one to oppose me. Of course he would, he remembers my _entertainment_ and curses it, curses _me_. I'm only giving the people what they _want_. Too bad the show isn't very long, though; he loses in just three turns, the force of my power knocking him into whatever machine he has absorbing cards.

As he falls, into the light below us, he screams for someone— _anyone_ —to finish Arc-V no matter the cost. I wonder what that means, until I look around and see the four canisters attached to the machine. Three of them are empty already, with the last holding an unconscious and half-transparent girl in a red jacket that looks so much like Ray that I _know_ she must be one of her split parts.

 _Traitor… traitor… traitor…!_

But before I can attack this lone girl, my Duel Disk suddenly announces the start of a new Duel. I turn around to see who would _dare_ fight me. It's just two boys, the younger one—no more than ten—helping the older one to stand. The older one has his Duel Disk on, and has already draw his hand. _Reiji and Reira_ , my mind supplies.

( _They're Reiji and Reira and they're my friends, DON'T HURT THEM!)_

I force the thought down as the scarf-wearing teenager adjusts his glasses and take the first move, pulling off a lengthy combo that empties his entire hand, but leaves him with a Fusion, a Synchro, and an Xyz Monster on his field. That's, impressive enough, I suppose.

 _(That's just Reiji's strategy.)_

 _Shut up_ , I hiss to the voice in my head, as the teen appeals to the "Yuya" he believes is inside of me. Talks nonsense about "Duels with smiles" and other such things. The voice in my head soaks it up and grows louder and louder. I can barely focus on my cards because that _damn voice_ is fighting me, joined by three others, all working to bust out of my mind.

And then _more_ people that _those voices_ know show up— _Sawatari and Gongenzaka, assisting Kurosaki Shun, Jack Atlas and Edo Phoenix and Kaito and Shiun'in Sora_ —and some start appealing to the other voices that aren't just _Yuya_. For _Yuto_ to fight off the darkness, for _Yugo_ to get up and save _Rin_ —even for _Yuri_ , _Yuri_ , the one that has no friends, to rise up because _he_ was the stronger one, not _me_. The voices are _so loud_ , _too_ loud.

I misplay because of the _cacophony_ and I see _red_ while I can do nothing but take the damage from Reiji's attacks. I grab my head, pull my hair, scream until my throat is raw. _Shut up, shut up, SHUT UP!_ But the noise doesn't stop, it just grows and grows and _grows_ until—

" _ENOUGH_!" I roar, and the room _finally_ goes quiet. "That's _enough_! " _Yuya"_ , " _Yuto"_ , " _Yugo"_ , and " _Yuri"_ _ARE NOT REAL_! They were nothing but false _personalities_ , _I_ am Zarc, _I_ am real, and I'm tired of being locked away inside of my own mind!"

I turn the Duel around on my next turn, using only Starve Venom and Odd-Eyes and a combination of the two. Reiji's field is empty now, all I have to do is attack and that's it, the last reasons for these fake personas in my head to cling to existence will be gone. But I hesitate—"Yuya" makes one last protest—and it's just enough time for the Duel to be interrupted by the earth splitting apart and the world fading to white.

* * *

 _If I make another move, if I take another step_

 _Then it all would fall apart. There'd be nothing of me left_

 _If I'm crying in the wind, if I'm crying in the night_

 _Will there ever be a way? Will my heart return to white?_

* * *

" _Zarc_."

My eyes snap open. The throne room is intact again, but those _annoying humans_ are all missing and the machine is off—the fourth canister is empty.

In front of all four of them is _Ray_.

I shake with rage at the sight of her, the hole in my heart threatening to swallow me whole. " _Ray_ ," I seethe, "I'd say it's a pleasure, but thanks to you I spent _fourteen years_ trapped inside my own head with absolutely _no memories_ of who I was or what I was doing there."

"Zarc, listen to me—" she tries to say, but I cut her off immediately. I've had _enough_ of listening to people.

"No, _you_ listen to _me_! Do you know how that felt?! Do you know how it felt, all those years ago, when the crowds kept demanding more and more violent Duels from me, and _no one_ told me to stop, _not even you_ , and even when you _did_ , you hardly tried, you ran off after the first attempt and _left me to suffer by myself_?! Do you know how it feels to have _absolutely no one_ that cares about whether or not you're _alive_?!"

Her eyes betray her shame as she looks away, covering her mouth.

" _You_ ," I continue, fighting back tears, "the _one_ person I trusted with my heart, _abandoned_ me at the first sign of trouble. You're just like them… all those horrible, _greedy_ humans."

She readies her Duel Disk and I ready mine. Ever since I remembered her, I've dreamed of this. Being able to make her _suffer_ like I did. Like the tiny, insignificant _insect_ that she is.

"…For what it's worth… I'm sorry," Ray says as she draws her hand.

I laugh at her. It's _far_ too late for _sorries_. I take the first turn, and my cards respond for the first time in years, and within just five turns I have all four of my dragons on the field despite Ray's attempts at preventing it. The call to _become one_ once again claws at my ears, and remembering the power I had in that form, I wholeheartedly wish to answer it—but I can't just yet. While I have my dragons, I don't have the key—I don't have _Astrograph Magician_.

Ray shudders at the sound of my dragons' synchronized roar. That's right, _be afraid_ , _you_ were the one that drove me, drove _them,_ to this. But then her face changes. She's _not_ afraid, she's staring at my dragons half with sorrow and half with _sympathy_. "Zarc, can't you see how much pain your dragons are in?" she asks me. "Can't you hear their cries?"

I scoff at her. What sort of _question_ is that?

"Of _course_ I hear them! Day and night I hear them! Why shouldn't I? They're the only ones that have never left me!" I can't hold back the tears anymore. "They've suffered by my side, and _we've had enough of it!_ We won't submit to you _worms_ any longer! _IT IS TIME FOR OUR REVIVAL! WE WILL BECOME ONE!_ "

"Zarc, don't—"

I draw my next card. It's _Astrograph Magician_. I slam the card on my Duel Disk faster than I ever have before, and the sight of his appearance makes Ray take a step back. " _The one who rules Space-Time… Astrograph Magician… combine our desires into profound power!"_ I chant, as my magician raises his staff and creates that _marvelous_ sphere of patterned light again. _Odd-Eyes_ goes first, then _Dark Rebellion_ , then _Clear Wing_ , and then _Starve Venom_.

But, when it's my turn to join them in that light, I can't. The moment my feet leave the ground, someone throws their arms around me and holds me tight. It's Ray, held to the ground by her monsters. I struggle in her grasp but she just _won't let go_.

" _RELEASE ME_!" I screech, kicking and scratching and—" _I have to join them! WE WILL BECOME ONE!"_

"NO!" she screams back at me, her grasp only tighter. "I'M NOT LETTING GO THIS TIME!"

* * *

 _Can you tell me who you are? Can you tell me where I am?_

 _I've forgotten how to see; I've forgotten if I can_

 _If I opened up my eyes there'd be no more going back_

 _'Cause I'd throw it all away and it all would fade to black_

* * *

What… w-what?

"Not again… I could never forgive myself if I let you go again," she continues. I feel her tears soaking into my jacket. "I never should have left you, Zarc. I'm _sorry_. God, I'm _so sorry_. I was too scared to help you until the day I told you that you needed to stop hurting your opponents, and I was too _stupid_ to see how much pain you were in, when I thought you were simply too far gone to save."

This doesn't make any sense. Ray is—Ray is—she _has_ to be lying! No one cares about me… not even her, _especially_ not her. I—I—have to—become one—then everything will—will be right, and I can—

She lets go of me, but I still don't float up to join my dragons. I don't understand, it's what I—what _we_ —have wanted for so long! Then why do I hesitate?

"I took those cards from my father because I _knew_ it was my fault you fell so far. The chance to save the world from—from _you_ —never crossed my mind when I was using those cards. I just wanted—" Her voice cracks, and she has to pause for a second. "I just wanted, a second chance with you. It didn't work out the way I'd hoped, but surely you remember our lives in the divided worlds!" Ray's eyes change then, from their normal color to a light blue. " _Yuya_!"

 _("Yuya…")_

 _(I look up, my goggles filled with tears, but don't move from my spot, curled up underneath the slide. A flash of lightning illuminates the playground, and I see Yuzu standing in the open, completely soaked because she doesn't have an umbrella. That's stupid, she's going to catch a cold!)_

 _("Yuzu, wh-what are you doing here?!")_

 _(She joins me under the slide, and I don't miss her shivering. "I-I got worried when you didn't show up at lunch. Were they bullying you again?")_

 _(I look away. Yes, they were, they were teasing me for being the son of a_ coward _. Dad's_ not _a coward, he just—something had to have come up. Something really important. I shake my head; there's no point in worrying Yuzu anymore than I already have. I look back at her and give her the best sheepish grin I can muster. "No, that's not it at all! I was stupid and was wandering around outside before we usually meet up, and then the rain started so I decided to shelter here! Haha, silly me…")_

 _(Her blue eyes narrow at me. "Yuya, it's just the two of us. You don't have to lie to me…")_

"NO!" I scream, covering my ears. "No, no, no, _no_! That wasn't me…!"

Ray's eyes change again, to pink this time. " _Yuto_!"

 _(Ruri's head is heavy against my shoulder as we rest on a bench. The sun's finally starting to set, which means she'll have to go home soon or else her brother and her parents will have my head, but I want to stay here for just a few more minutes. I don't dare move because that would definitely wake her—if I_ did _move, though, I would definitely just want to pull her closer.)_

 _(I let out a short but happy sigh… and Ruri stirs, raising her head off my arm. The sudden absence of her warmth just feels_ wrong _. "Mm… 's it time to go now?" she asks, yawning as she rubs her eyes.)_

 _("N-No…" I respond immediately, but one glance at the sky tells her the truth.)_

 _(She rolls her beautiful pink eyes at me. "Yuto, silly, don't you remember the last time I didn't get home from our totally-not-a-date in time? Nii-san almost—")_

 _(I shudder at the memory. "Don't remind me," I groan, then I sigh. "I guess you're right… let's get you home, then.")_

 _(Ruri gives me a quizzical look as I help her up and I feel her eyes on me as we start walking in silence. Until she finally decides to drag me to a stop, about a block from her house. "Yuto, what's wrong?")_

 _("…Nothing. Absolutely nothing," I tell her. "I just… hate having to let you go. You… you_ complete _me.")_

 _(Silence passes between us again as we just stare at each other. Then she covers her mouth and giggles uncontrollably. "That has_ got _to be the cheesiest thing anyone's ever said to me, and my family has said a_ lot _of stupid things like that." She ruffles my hair and I blush and look away from her.)_

 _("But…" she continues, squeezing my hand. "It's also got to be the sweetest thing anyone's said to me, too. I'm glad we're friends, Yuto.")_

"SHUT UP!" I wail as my hands begin to tear at my own hair because maybe then the pain will make me quit remembering these things that _were never real_!

Ray's eyes are a bright amber now as she walks towards me. " _Yugo._ "

 _("Is it ready yet?" I whine. The mouthwatering smell of a finished apple pie fills our entire little house, even blocking out the oil and smoke from our attempts at putting together our D-Wheel. My stomach growls as I stare at the offending pie, just sitting there on our table without a care in the world.)_

 _(Rin bats me over the head with her oven mitt. "It's still not done cooling yet. Ten more minutes, okay Yugo? Then we can celebrate finishing our D-Wheel.")_

 _("But I'm hungry_ now _!")_

 _(She gives me one of her "Shut up, Yugo," glares, and I shrink in my seat. It's no use arguing with Rin when she gives me one of those looks. So I turn my attention back at the pie, and sink down onto the table as the minutes pass, tapping a beat with my foot. Come on… come on…)_

 _(Rin slides a plate in front of me and I sit up so fast I almost fall out of the chair. She rolls her eyes at my antics, then adds a piece of the pie she'd spent a week gathering the materials for onto my plate. The slice is gone in just a few seconds—it's easily the best thing I've ever eaten in my entire life. I hold out my plate. "More!" I say even though I'm still chewing the first piece.)_

 _("Not if you're just gonna swallow the thing whole, you're gonna choke you idiot," Rin says, going as far as to pull the pie closer to her.)_

 _(I swallow my mouthful and down it with a couple gulps of water. …I guess she_ does _have a point. I shrug. "Fine, I'll eat slower this time.")_

 _("Promise?")_

 _("Riiiin!")_

 _(She laughs and adds a slice to my plate. "Just messing with you, Yugo.")_

I fall to my knees. "Stop… please… I'm not…"

Green eyes stare down at me as she holds out her hand to me. " _Yuri._ "

 _(No way. There_ has _to be some sort of mistake, I think, while I'm staring up at the sky, the wind knocked out of me. I hear Selena celebrating on her side of the field. It's just not right. She shouldn't have—_ I'm _the stronger Duelist!_ I'm _the prodigy that never loses, that's what my teachers keep saying about me. So then how…?)_

 _(She dances around me while she laughs practically in my face. "Haha! No wonder you have so much fun when you Duel, Yuri! Winning is_ so much fun _!")_

 _(I growl at her as I pull myself off the ground. "Again," I say, turning my Duel Disk back on. "That—that was some sort of mistake.")_

 _(Selena contemplates the rematch for a moment, tapping her chin a few times, before she smiles mischievously. "Only if you can catch me~!" she says in a sing-song voice, and then she's half-out of sight by the time I even register that I need to chase her.)_

 _("Hey—no fair!" I shout after her. She knows I'm no good at running, the one skill she has over me. "Get back here! I REFUSE TO LOSE TO YOU, SELENA!")_

 _(…I never did catch her that day. In fact, I never do. I came close, the day we met for what I thought was the first time in the subway, but in the end she was swept back to Academia by Barrett, and I never get the chance.)_

Ray is herself and hugging me again, and the part of me that is repulsed by this is shoved aside and forgotten. I'm just Zarc… the lonely boy that Ray decided to befriend all those years ago. I've built up over _fifteen years worth_ of tears, and it's all coming out now, as Ray holds me close and cries with me. She tells me that everything will be alright, and I won't have to suffer alone anymore. For once, I believe her.

…Until I remember that our Duel is still continuing, and the once-beautiful but now harsh light of _Astrograph Magician's_ effect grabs ahold of me. Ray tries to anchor me to the ground again, but even though I cling to her hand as tightly as I can, the light is pulling on me stronger, and I know that I'm going to be absorbed into that horrid light. I don't want it anymore, I can't believe I ever did.

" _RAY! HELP ME, PLEASE!"_

She looks up at me with fear in her eyes. She knows that I'll slip out of her grasp soon, even with her monster's help. "Zarc, I—" She closes her eyes. "I… I can't help you now. I need you to—"

" _NO!_ I don't want to—I don't want to fuse again! I'm finally—I'm finally _human_ again and you want me to go back to _that_?!"

" _Listen to me_ ," she hisses, and I shut up immediately because I've never seen her like this before. "I'm going to win this Duel, Zarc, and when I do, I'm going to use those cards again. I'm going to split the world—and us—back into four. This one dimension is a dead one—it has been for years. But the other four—Standard, Xyz, Synchro, and Fusion—they still have every right to exist, you've seen the worlds through your counterparts just like I have. They're beautiful…"

Her grip loosens and I hold her tighter in response. She wants me to go back to—to that _darkness_ , existing with no memories and with no body of my own. "Ray, don't—"

"It'll be different this time, though," Ray continues, and I see her tears flying away in the wind. " _We_ —Zarc and Ray—will no longer exist. We won't be able to see those beautiful worlds anymore… but _they_ will. Yuya and Yuzu, Yuto and Ruri, Yugo and Rin, and Yuri and Selena. _They_ will keep on living, but not us—we'll finally be able to _rest_. Doesn't—doesn't that sound nice?"

 _Rest_. The word is almost foreign to me. It's been… I don't even remember how long…

My eyes are dry now. I've already shed my last tears.

"Yeah… that sounds nice. I'd—I'd really like that." I close my eyes and smile, imagining all of my suffering finally going away. "You promise?"

She nods and blinks away her tears and makes sure to wrap her pinkie around mine. "Yeah. I promise."

I look at her one last time… and let go of her hand.

* * *

 **A/N: I'm so sorry for this.**

 ***Goes off and cries in a corner for like the rest of the day***


End file.
